Students coming to Muskogee for the annual spelling bee this year have added incentive to get those words right.

The newly-named Eastern Oklahoma Spelling Bee, set for March 9 at the Muskogee Civic Center, will include 112 entrants from 56 eastern Oklahoma schools, more than twice as many as last year.

Plus, this year’s winner will go straight to the National Spelling Bee, June 2 and 4 in Washington, D.C. The winner of the 2009 Muskogee Regional Spelling Bee advanced to the state finals. The winners of previous bees advanced to regional bees in Tulsa, then to state finals.

Muskogee Bee coordinator Susan Hoog said the Tulsa World, which used to sponsor the regional bee, pulled its sponsorship two years ago, prompting only one spelling bee in Oklahoma.

“So, last year, everyone went to the state spelling bee,” after winning the Muskogee bee, Hoog said.

This year, the Oklahoma City bee sponsor did not want to host schools from 50 to 60 counties, she said.

Hoog, who also is Literacy First coach at the 7th and 8th Grade Center, said Muskogee almost lost the bee until she began talking with National Spelling Bee officials, who told her they were seeking a sponsor for an eastern Oklahoma bee covering seven counties. She said national bee officials found an anonymous sponsor and asked Hoog if she would direct the bee.

“I sent letters to every school in those counties,” Hoog said.

The bee now will host public and private schools from 10 counties, Hoog said. They are: Muskogee, Wagoner, Creek, Adair, McIntosh, Okmulgee, Pittsburgh, LeFlore, Cherokee and Sequoyah. Schools are coming as far away as Drumright and Krebs, she said.

“Everyone is really excited about this,” she said, adding that contestants from the 7th and 8th Grade Center are especially excited.

“I’m just studying more every single night until I know every single word, all 500 of them,” said seventh-grader Chelsey Kimble, who took third place at the 2009 Muskogee bee as an Irving Elementary School sixth-grader. “I’m really excited. I’ve never been to Washington, D.C. before. My uncle, Patrick Kiser, works for a government agency in Washington and I would really like to see him.”

Hoog said she also has worked to generate business and civic support.

“I’ve contacted every small business to be a sponsor, so we have new sponsors this year. I contacted the Chamber of Commerce,” she said.

Hoog said 7th and 8th Grade Center students are helping with the bee in several ways, including singing at the bee. Eighth-grader Taylor Schneidewent designed the program, name tags and even painted a special oil painting for the event.



If you go

WHAT: Eastern Oklahoma Spelling Bee

WHEN: 6 p.m. March 9

WHERE: Muskogee Civic Center.

WHO: 112 entrants from 56 schools in 10 eastern Oklahoma counties.

WINNER: Winner advances to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.